A Kurdish source told Sputnik that Syrian militants conduct an offensive to the north of Afrin in the Aleppo province with the support of the Turkish army.

"I can say that the Turkish troops and militants they support have advanced for one kilometer toward Syrian territory in Afrin's north. The advance is supported by the Turkish army's artillery" the source told Sputnik on Saturday.

According to the source, the Turkish artillery has been shelling Kurdish settlements near Afrin for 6 days

The Ahrar al-Sham radical Islamist group, according to the source, are using the situation by attempts to seize strategic heights near the settlements on the outskirts of Afrin.

The city of Afrin located in the north of the province of Aleppo, which is mostly inhabited by the Kurds, is located near the Syrian-Turkish border and 20 kilometers from the border town of Azaz, which is controlled by terrorists.

In March, Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) General command spokesperson told Sputnik that continuous shelling of villages in Syria's Afrin by the Turkish military resulted in ten civilian casualties.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said one of the branches of the Russian reconciliation center will be established in Syria's Aleppo province in order to prevent violations of the cessation of hostilities in the region of contact between Kurdish militias and Turkey-supported rebel formations.